Why Public Opinion Plays a Big Role in Election Results

Dr. Jan West, Ph.D.

Potential voters need to know who you are and what you stand for whether you are running for president of the United States or a local school board position. Voters need to believe you have their best interests at heart to a greater extent than your opponent does.

To find out where you stand when it comes to public opinion, you need to find out what people are thinking, and for those opinions to count they need to be strong enough to bring people to the polls. Before that happens, you and potential voters need to get to know one another. A good way to get a baseline of what the public is thinking is by conducting political research surveys or polls.

The best political research surveys are developed to help various groups understand one another and make the right strides toward getting their needs met. They are also designed to pinpoint the issues that are most important to different demographic groups, and identify how a candidate is seen in regard to those issues. A candidate can adjust his or her campaign strategy to highlight the attributes the voting public sees as most valuable by keeping track of public opinion with a political research survey.

The Importance of Partnering with an Expert

Working with a professional company to create your political research survey is a great way to be sure that you cast a wide net to reach as many potential voters as possible and that you employ the necessary tools to use the information effectively.

Surveys can be taken in a variety of ways, including online, over the phone, and on paper, and are available in different languages so that each question can be fully understood. Behavioral psychologists should thoroughly research each survey question before the questions reach the voting public. After the answers are in, they should continue to stay involved by analyzing what the answers mean. Ph.D.-level consultants should be available to suggest the action plans for moving forward.

Since no two campaigns are exactly alike, each voter survey should be custom designed and use validated questions. Then, you can be confident any campaign adjustments you make will be a step in the right direction. Based on the results of the political surveys, you may want to emphasize a different area of your political platform or get your name out more in a specific geographical area. You may also want to educate yourself more on issues that are important to many in the voting area; issues you may not have taken a close enough look at previously.

Although there are no guarantees in politics, the results of political research surveys can accurately predict election results with a high degree of confidence. By strategically conducting pulse surveys at regular intervals during your campaign, you get a stronger sense of public opinion and the guidance you need for course corrections before and after the election.

NBRI helps campaigns and organizations just like yours win elections and stay in office by combining powerful research with deep analytics. If you’re ready to join their ranks, here’s how we can help: